A name once given to a proposed family uniting the click-consonant languages of southern Africa with Sandawe and Hadza in Tanzania. Joseph Greenberg proposed Khoisan as one of four basic African language families between 1949 and 1963, but subsequent research by Ernst Westphal, Bonny Sands and Anthony Traill could not confirm a shared genetic ancestor. Specialists now treat the resemblances, chiefly the shared use of click consonants, as the product of a southern African sprachbund rather than common descent, and Khoisan survives only as a geographic term of convenience, comparable to Papuan or Australian, standing in for three independent families, Khoe-Kwadi, Tuu and Kx'a, plus the two isolates Sandawe and Hadza.
Facts
RegionSouthern Africa (Khoe-Kwadi, Tuu and Kx'a) and, for the two isolates Sandawe and Hadza, Tanzania in East Africa. 1 Speaker CountSum of the three largest traditionally-grouped Khoisan languages (Khoekhoe ~250,000, Sandawe 40-80,000, !Kung ~16,000); Khoisan is a geographic-typological grouping, not an established genetic family, so this is a rough total rather than a single sourced family figure. Disputed
Proto-Language StatusNo Proto-Khoisan can be reconstructed, because the grouping is not now believed to be a genuine genetic family at all. 1 Only its three constituent families, Khoe-Kwadi, Tuu and the formally demonstrated Kx'a grouping (2010), have their own internal reconstructions in progress. Connections
Associated With
Why this is disputed. Greenberg proposed Khoisan as one of Africa's four basic language families (1949-1963); the genetic unity has not been confirmed and is rejected by specialists today.
Source Wikipedia: Khoisan Languages
Includes
Khoekhoe, Languages Khoisan is now recognized as an obsolete areal grouping rather than a genetic family; Khoekhoe own demonstrated affiliation is the Khoe language family. Recorded as associated with this atlas Khoisan entity for continuity with the traditional grouping, not as a claim of genetic unity.
Source Wikipedia: Khoekhoe Language
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Khoisan Languages
Wikimedia Foundation- Lead and Classification sections
Introduction
The only widespread Khoisan language is Khoekhoe (also known as Khoekhoegowab, Nama or Damara) of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, with a quarter of a million speakers; Sandawe in Tanzania is second in number with some 40-80,000, some monolingual; and the !Kung language of the northern Kalahari spoken by some 16,000 or so people.
- Associated With: Joseph Greenberg
View the Source Wikipedia: Khoekhoe Language
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Khoekhoe, Classification section, formerly classified as Khoisan, a grouping now recognized as obsoleteView the Source Dissenting Readings (1 dissenting reading)
Proto-Language Status
Greenberg's original 1949-1963 classification treated Khoisan as one of Africa's four basic language families on the strength of shared click consonants and other typological traits. This genealogical unity has not been confirmed by the comparative method; specialists including Ernst Westphal, Bonny Sands and Anthony Traill showed it could not be sustained, and Khoisan is now recognized as three independent families, Khoe-Kwadi, Tuu and Kx'a, plus the isolates Sandawe and Hadza.
A dissenting reading, from Joseph GreenbergWikipedia: Khoisan Languages, Wikimedia Foundation
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Khoisan a real language family?
No. It is a convenient geographic label for three independent families and two isolates, not a proven genetic family.
Not by current scholarship. Joseph Greenberg proposed Khoisan as one of four basic African language families between 1949 and 1963, but later research by Ernst Westphal, Bonny Sands and Anthony Traill could not confirm a shared genetic ancestor. Specialists now read the resemblances, chiefly the shared use of click consonants, as the product of a southern African sprachbund rather than common descent. Khoisan survives as a geographic term of convenience, standing in for three independent families, Khoe-Kwadi, Tuu and Kx'a, plus the two isolates Sandawe and Hadza.
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